No Place That Far
by schizo-nephalim
Summary: Set three years after The True Meaning of Human. Jessica joins the community in the caves, and life goes on as well as can be expected. Of course, twists and turns do come up…
1. Chapter 1

No Place That Far

**Disclaimer:** Jessica is my creation…everyone else? Just playing in Stephenie Meyer's sandbox.

**Rating:** PG

**Characters:** Jessica (OFC), Brandt, Jeb, Jared, Wanda/Melanie, Ian, various other cave dwellers, Burns Living Flowers

**Description:** Set three years after The True Meaning of Human. Jessica joins the community in the caves, and life goes on as well as can be expected. Of course, twists and turns do come up…

**A/N:** I started work on this story around the same time that I started the first, but it's taken a long time to get them both out. Seriously, two years is a long time to have writer's block! I had to bring the story full circle, though, and this was in my head just as long as the first story, because without Jessica and Burns's history, this story wouldn't have made nearly as much sense…not to mention that I think it's a lot better when you understand everything that happened between them. Also, I'm not too thrilled with the title, it may be subject to change if I can decide on one.

Chapter One: Discovered

My eyes scoured the desert through the binoculars; nothing but sand and rock and scrubby vegetation as far as the eye could see. I was sorely disappointed, but I wasn't giving up. There had been a search in this area several months before for a missing person, and one Seeker had been so insistent in her belief that there were humans in this inhospitable place that she was still searching. Not today, though; she was back in civilization for the moment, being forced to report back her findings of nothing as she had to do every several days.

This gave me the opportunity I needed to try to find my family. Not actual relatives—they were all gone—but more humans. I was so tired of trying to blend in with the souls, of changing my name and moving around constantly under the pretense of being a photographer…I wanted to be among people who understood me, who understood pain and despair and sacrifice.

The sun had just faded behind the mountains, and its light was fading faster than I was accustomed to. I eyed the mountainside that my car was parked about twenty yards from; I was going to hang out at my car until full darkness, then go up to a ledge I had noticed and wait. I was certain they had been watching me from some unseen vantage point, and if they were anything like me, they would assume I was a soul, probably that I was working with the Seeker that had been trying to hunt them down, in which case I would be safer if I sprung the trap on them first and gave myself the opportunity to explain.

I knew about the soul that had disappeared in this vicinity…her name was Wanderer, and this was her ninth planet, something practically unheard of. She had been implanted in a "wild" human, Melanie, and the Seeker's belief was that Melanie had overpowered Wanderer and driven her out here to find her boyfriend and brother. The Seeker believed they were all in hiding out here, perhaps with others, and I had a gut feeling that she was right, even though my efforts to find them had so far been in vain. Whatever hiding place they had, it was definitely well hidden…probably underground, or possibly in caves in the mountains.

Regardless of the utter lack of life I had found thus far, my determination and my convictions were rock solid. Sooner or later, I would find them, or they would find me. If they found me, it would be on my terms. I climbed back into my car, then started packing my small survival bag: a flashlight, two bottles of Heal, a container of No Pain, a small bottle of Awake, and a bottle each of Outside Clean and Inside Clean, along with three water bottles, granola bars, beef jerky, and a packet of M&M's. On top of all this, I hesitantly placed a .9mm and two spare clips that I had gotten off a Seeker last year.

I was only pulled over for going six miles over the speed limit, but the Seeker had been alone, and I took the opportunity to get the weapons I had been without since I first went into hiding. I hadn't lifted a finger against the kindly Seeker who had shown concern when I explained that I was on a road trip and looking for a hotel to sleep at; I had gotten out and was showing her a false path, then sprayed the Still in her face when she was poring over the map. I knew I would be safe; it takes four hours for the effects to wear off. I took the Seeker back to the car, then relieved her of her weapons and left. By the time she had regained consciousness, I had acquired the Hummer that I now drove and was six counties away.

I had already decided several things about my interaction with the humans when we found each other. They would be desperately curious about how I had survived so long on my own, how I had gotten my hands on Soul meds, how I knew how to use them, everything about my life since the invasion. There was a lot about me that they would never know. I could never tell them about my time as a Healer, or the things I had done while I was in that profession…

A shudder brought me to my knees as the memories overwhelmed me for a moment…the most unforgivable things I had ever done…no amount of penance could begin to remove the shame and guilt from my soul. Then there was the reason I had to leave that particular Calling…

The conflicting emotions brought me back to my feet. Love, bitterness, betrayal, pain, regret, longing…I pushed them back, fought against them to focus on the present. Internally, I barred them into the furthest recesses of my mind, letting the single-minded determination of finding my family take hold again.

Now that it was fully dark, I grabbed my survival bag and turned out the interior lights before opening the door and jumping out, shutting the door quietly behind me and quickly hit my knees, sneaking to the opposite side and making my way silently to the foot of the mountain. I had learned rock climbing during my latest Calling—landscape photography—and my hands and feet easily sought out the fastest, most silent path there was to my destination, a ledge about fifteen feet above the desert floor. It was the perfect vantage point to watch for approaching people, whether humans or souls, and it gave me the tactical advantage of the high ground.

Shortly after I had settled on the ledge, my eyes scouring the desert for signs of movement under the stars, I felt the first stirrings of the desire to sleep. Quickly and silently, I pulled the Awake out and gave a single spray, inhaling the grapefruit-scented mist. My mind immediately focused, and all thoughts of sleep vanished with the simple mist. Now that there was no danger of dozing off, I could focus on the bait close by in the form of my Hummer.

This time, I was not disappointed. At around eleven, four forms silently skirted the darkness, staying low to the ground as they approached the car. I tensed and reached for the flashlight and the .9mm, silently flipping off the safety and inspecting the chamber for the round I knew should be there. It was, and I watched them surround the vehicle, communicating with hand signals. The only gun was carried by an older man, much older than the others, with a great bushy white beard. The others held clubs, except one that carried a machete. I wasn't concerned about them; I could pick them off before they ever reached me, if it became necessary. The rifle was more dangerous, but only if he could get a clean shot.

They were using hand signals, but they were obviously homemade; whoever they were, they had never been in the military, and had a conspicuous lack of precision. They all jumped up at the same time, opening all the doors, finding nothing but the provisions I had left in the vehicle.

As soon as the realization that they had been set up hit them, I fired a single shot that hit the sand by the foot of the man with the machete. They all started and immediately put themselves into defensive postures, the man with the rifle aiming at the ledge I was perched on.

"The first one's a warning," I called down to them, making sure to keep out of the line of fire of the rifle. "There's a flashlight in the glove box, if you don't have any of your own. Show me your eyes, and I'll come down, but move slowly. If anyone approaches me, I won't be giving warnings a second time."

The one with the machete slowly pulled a flashlight from a jacket pocket, then clicked it on and shone the light into his own eyes. Blue…no silver to catch and magnify the light…so he's human! He slowly passed it to the next person, whose eyes turned out to be gray…gray, but no silver. The process was repeated, and I was satisfied that they were all human. A quiet footfall, the faintest grinding of pebbles behind me gave me a split-second warning, but it was too late; a knee pressed hard on the base of my neck, while another landed firmly in the center of my back, pinning me down on the ground.

Blinding light shone in my eyes, and I realized with horror that I had forgotten to remove the damning evidence before holing up here; beams of reflected silver danced over the rocks. A man's voice above me cursed low.

"It's a Seeker!" he called down to the others. I had only moments to act; I knew they were scrambling up the rocks to kill me.

"I'm human!" I screeched, but a punch in the ribs made me wheeze in pain. Hands clenched in my hair, and a thin metal blade pressed into my neck.

"We're not stupid, you filthy parasite," he hissed in my ear.

"I can prove it! They're contacts! Just give me thirty seconds to take them out, and you'll see!" I insisted, forcing myself not to fight against the predicament I was in. I kept silent after that, letting my words sink in. The others had reached us by that point, and I knew they had heard me also. After a moment, the hands loosened, but my gun had been taken from me.

"All right…but if it's a trick, we won't hesitate to kill you," the voice said, finally letting me go and allowing me to sit up. I made my movements slow and deliberate, observing the men standing over me; one of the men had traded their club with my .9mm, and the older man with the rifle were standing about ten feet away, but all barrels of the guns were aimed at me.

"I'm just gonna get my case for my contacts first, if that's ok," I said, slowly raising my hands so they could see that I wasn't about to do anything stupid. "It's in my front pocket, so I'm just gonna get it real slow, ok?"

"All right, sweetie," the older gentleman said kindly, lowering the rifle a hair but keeping his intense gaze on me.

I slowly reached in the pocket and pulled out the small white case, then frowned as I saw the dust and dirt on my fingers. It would just make my eyes even more irritated, but I knew that was the least of my problems, so I sighed and slowly opened one side of the case, then tilted my head back and popped the small lens from my eye, then placed it in the case and repeated the procedure with the other eye. As always, my eyes burned after being freed from their unwanted burden, and I blinked a few times before looking up at them.

The light was expected this time, but the burning in my eyes made it even more uncomfortable. It moved between both of my eyes for a few moments, then turned to a more broad area. I was momentarily blinded, but I could feel their relief and surprise in the air; relief that I was actually human, surprise at what I actually held in my hands. I could practically hear the wheels turning in their head as they processed what that would mean for them.

"Well," the old man's voice broke the silence, and I was somewhat grateful for his making the first move. "I suppose introductions are in order. I'm Jeb, and this is Kyle, Brandt, and Wes. The ruffian that snuck up on you is Jared."

I looked around as he pointed out the others he introduced. Even the light from the flashlight wasn't enough for me to make out much of anything yet, so I could only tell shapes in the faint light. They seemed to be waiting for me to speak, so I cleared my throat.

"I'm…well, I've gone by so many names over the years it's hard to remember my real name anymore," I replied as I started to pull myself up. The figure he called Brandt stepped over and offered me his hand, and I accepted it and let him pull me to my feet. "But when I was a kid, my parents called me Jessica, so that's gotta be it."

"Jessica," they repeated to themselves…it was almost creepy, but I knew they were just repeating it so they could remember it.

"So how exactly did you find us, anyway?" Jared asked. I wanted to hit him for the bruise I felt forming on my ribs, but I restrained myself.

"Listening…that little Seeker didn't seem to care who heard her talking, as long as she got her point across. I was eating lunch in a restaurant in Tucson when I overheard a conversation she was having with another Seeker. He didn't seem to buy what she was thinking, though," I explained. The men seemed surprised and baffled at my simple story.

"You were able to sit there in a restaurant, in a city filled with Souls, with Seekers in the same room?" Kyle asked incredulously. "And _none_ of them noticed?"

"Well, the contacts helped…not to mention that I've been hiding in plain sight for years, constantly moving around, and I've learned how they behave and talk, and I tend to keep my mouth shut unless one of them speaks to me. I wouldn't have made it all this time if I were stupid," I growled out, feeling more like I was talking to a wall than a man, for all the good it seemed to do. Jeb chuckled.

"I'm sure you've got some real interesting stories," he said, his tone light. "But I'd say we should continue this conversation inside. Is there anything you needed to get out of your car before we move it?"

"Clothes, supplies, a little food—that's pretty much it," I told him, shrugging. My side gave a particularly painful throb, and anger flooded through me; faster than lightning, I spun around and punched Jared in the mouth, making him stagger back.

"What the hell?!" I heard Kyle and Brandt exclaim, but I kept my glare leveled at the man I had hit.

"That's for my ribs, jackass," I hissed. It felt so good to be able to let out my frustrations like this…I'd held everything inside for so long, it was nearly as good as sex to let it out. He nodded, even managed to smile through the pain of his bloody lip.

"I guess we're even now," he said evenly. In the light of the moon and the flashlight, I studied the men's faces, and I could see that my actions had brought me a bit of respect. I had a feeling that might be the case; they respected strength, the willingness to stand up for yourself, and I had shown them that I wasn't going to sit around and be bullied. All things considered, I'd say I was off to a pretty good start.


	2. Chapter Two: Led

Chapter Two: Led

Jeb and Brandt walked with me while the others took my Hummer ahead to their hideout. While Jeb whistled tunelessly, I noticed Brandt eyeing me every few seconds in my peripheral vision. It grated on my nerves; I had a feeling what that look was for, and I wasn't interested in the slightest.

"So, Jessica," Brandt started, his tone a little too casual. "What's your story? How'd you get those contacts?" I thought for a second before I answered, editing my words so I wouldn't say anything potentially dangerous.

"Well, about a year before the invasion became public knowledge, I ran into an old boyfriend. His eyes caught the light and reflected it…I thought it looked cool, and I asked him about it." I couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. "Looking back, it was so obvious that he was already a Soul…but he told me that they were these specially made contacts. It took awhile to track them down, but I did and I ordered a nice little stockpile…I didn't start wearing them till I went on the run, though."

After that, I clenched my jaw to keep from saying more. There was too much I couldn't tell them, too much I couldn't share—whether because it was too painful to think about, or because they would kill me if they knew, or both. The silence that followed was tense for me, nerve-wracking in its own way.

"Where are you from?" I was still in safe territory, so far.

"I grew up in the South, but since the invasion, I've been pretty much all over. I'm used to the heat, but the desert is almost a relief—it was so much more humid where I grew up." This made the men chuckle, and I could understand their amusement. When the entrance came into view, the mood shifted.

"Jessica, what's your take on the Souls?" Jeb suddenly asked, his gaze piercing as he looked at me. I was confused at the abrupt change in subject, but I answered honestly.

"They're pacifists…they couldn't raise a hand against someone to save their own lives. It's kinda hard to bring yourself to hurt someone like that," I told him…I wasn't sure why he was asking this, but he seemed satisfied with my answer. Nodding to himself, he stepped into the blackness of the cave entrance. After a moment, Brandt offered me his hand, and I reluctantly took it so he could guide me through.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever…down, then up, then twists and turns, all in blackness. I had no desire to talk, and Brandt's few attempts at conversation had fallen flat, so the silence made the situation even more awkward than it had already been. He seemed nice enough, but there was entirely too much pain in my heart for me to even consider anything beyond him being a new acquaintance.

A light finally appeared ahead, and it was a relief when I was able to pull my hand out of Brandt's. Jeb was waiting for us in the light, and I looked around in surprise. The cave was huge, with what looked like dozens of tiny moons illuminating the ceiling…I wasn't able to absorb much more detail than that, though. The Awake was wearing off, and a heavy exhaustion settled over me; I staggered, and both men caught me.

"You must be bushed," Jeb said quietly. "It's pretty late—most everyone's asleep. I know it's hardly ideal, but would you have a problem rooming with Brandt for tonight? There's a spare mattress in his room. We can find something a bit more appropriate in the morning."

All I could do was shrug. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but at least I wouldn't have to cuddle up to him…besides, it was only one night, and I was pretty certain that Jeb wouldn't suggest it if he thought Brandt would try anything indecent. Brandt led the way again, and I grudgingly took his hand when he led me into another pitch-black tunnel…I was too tired to note the turns he made, and was surprised when he stopped at an opening covered with a blanket.

"Try to keep quiet; my roommate Aaron's probably asleep already," he whispered to me. I nodded and walked in when he held the blanket aside. It was too dark to make out much more than shapes, but it was enough for me to see the mattress he pointed out, and I immediately went to it and laid down. In spite of sharing a room with two strange men and all my sleep problems, it took almost no time to drift off to sleep.


	3. Chapter Three: Questioned

Chapter Three: Questioned

The next morning, Jeb gave me a tour of his place. I was fascinated; between nature's creation and the man-made enhancements, I couldn't have imagined a better hiding place for so many people. Mostly everyone greeted me warmly, but I sensed an underlying tension from some of the cave dwellers that I didn't understand…that is, until I came to the kitchen and found the breakfast crowd listening to a lone speaker.

"So basically, the Flowers are not quite so different from any animal on Earth, except of course they use sunlight for food like the plants here do," the speaker finished. She was a little taller than me, with short dark hair and tanned skin; when she turned in my direction, I caught a glimpse of hazel before her eyes hit the sunlight streaming through a crack in the roof, and then they became twin beams of silver light.

I gasped involuntarily, shocked, and the room froze…every eye had landed on me, the newcomer, and I felt the weight of anxiety radiating from the others in the room. Everyone was watching, waiting for my reaction, waiting to see what I would do…after a moment of staring at the Soul, I laughed, still incredulous, and the tension in the room relaxed a few degrees.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Jessica," Jeb announced to the room. Most of the people stood up and made their way over, introducing themselves; Trudy, Lily, Reid, Heath, Violetta, Jamie, Doc, Sharon—I was never going to keep all these names straight!

I noticed that the Soul didn't introduce herself, so when Jeb grabbed a roll, I took one as well and made my way over to her. She tensed, as did the man standing beside her, but she made no move to escape, and I smiled and held out my hand when I reached her.

"What's your name?" I asked kindly. She hesitantly took my hand and shook it, then seemed to relax and smiled back.

"Wanderer…but everyone here calls me Wanda, if you prefer," she replied.

"Wanderer…it's nice to meet you. So how'd you end up here with the humans?" I asked conversationally as I took a bite of my roll. This seemed to bring a return of her anxiety, and the man finally spoke.

"That's kind of a long story," he said, then stuck his hand out. "I'm Ian."

Since I still had a mouth full of bread, I nodded in acknowledgement as I shook his hand. Now that the shock of finding a Soul in this human community had worn off, I was burning with curiosity, but it made me sad, too…my heart throbbed painfully at the memory. If only Burns could see this…I stopped that thought before it could develop further…no sense wishing for the impossible.

"That's okay," I said after I swallowed. "I know I'm new here, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm a bit more open-minded about the Souls than the average human…comes with being in their society."

"Really?" Her tone was slightly doubtful, but surprised and curious. I couldn't help but smile.

"My Calling was landscape photography…perfect excuse to spend so much time on my own, not to mention a reason for Healers to give me their medicines and tell me how to use them." Their eyes widened at my words; I definitely didn't lie, but I certainly wasn't going to tell them more than that.

"How could you do all that without getting caught?" Ian asked, his tone full of wonder. I chuckled and pulled the small white case out of my pocket.

"With these…perfect camouflage in public." I handed them to Ian, who opened one side and examined the contents. When it caught the sunlight and reflected it, they both gasped.

"Wow…you could do _anything_ with these," Ian murmured…he seemed to snap back to himself, then closed the case and handed it back to me.

"Did I hear that right?" a male voice interjected, and I turned to find Doc standing behind me, his face lit with excitement. "The Healers explained their medicines to you?"

"Yeah…I don't know what's in them, but they told me how to use them. I could explain them to you later, if you wanted," I replied, relieved and nervous at the same time. I definitely preferred listening to talking, and I had a feeling that Doc's questions would be much more in depth than I felt comfortable with. At least I was able to explain my possession and knowledge of the Soul medicine without going into more dangerous territory—the Healers had been thorough in their explanations to me, not knowing as I asked questions that I already knew the answers.

Just then, Jeb cleared his throat, and one glance at him gave me the message. He was smiling, but it was a trifle forced; he was ready to move on with the tour. I nodded once, then turned back to Wanda and Ian.

"Well, it looks like Jeb's waiting for me, so I'll see you guys later. Nice to meet you, Wanda," I added as I walked away from their little group. When I made my way back to Jeb, I was disappointed and a little annoyed that Brandt and Doc followed. Jared also extracted himself from the crowd to join the tour—I hadn't noticed him earlier, but he seemed chipper this morning, even though his bottom lip was split and painful-looking and swollen to twice its normal size.

"Day's wasting, let's go," was all Jeb said as he looked around at the men that had joined our group. We turned and followed him down the tunnel back to the big garden room, then turned down a black corridor. I stumbled in the dark, and two sets of hands quickly caught me before I could fall.

"It's okay, I gotcha," two voices said at the same time…Jared and Brandt.

"Thanks," I whispered to them. Jared's hands pulled away, but Brandt moved his grip to my hand, holding it, guiding me through the darkness. It was frustrating to me to need the assistance, and I rolled my eyes when I realized how much I'd held this man's hand in the past twelve hours. Surely he was getting his hopes up, although that had never been my intention…best to set him straight before it got any further. I'd wait till we were alone, though; I wasn't mean enough to reject him in front of an audience.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever; the distances underground in this system were astonishing. I wondered how the others seemed to be able to navigate the black tunnels with such ease…how long had they lived here? When the light finally came into view, I pulled my hand out of Brandt's, refusing to look at him even though I could feel his eyes on me.

"We're coming up on the hospital wing. Not super convenient cuz of the distance, but it gets good light all day long," Jeb explained as we got closer. I felt myself nodding; this must be why Doc came along.

"So Jessica, have you ever had to use the medicines, or were you simply told about them?" Doc asked as we reached the light. When I looked around the room, I saw a few cots, a makeshift desk, and, to my great surprise, a pretty nice amount of Heal, Cool, Seal, Inside and Outside Clean, No Pain, and Smooth.

"Both…I was told how to use them first, but I've had to heal myself a few times. See, I used the excuse of being a landscape photographer, so no one would ask questions about why I spent so much time alone. That's why they gave me the medicines and explained how to use them; that way if I got hurt, I could treat myself if I wasn't able to get back to civilization. I've broken my left wrist, my right ankle, two ribs, and my left shin at different times, so I got a nice bit of practice treating injuries," I told him.

"So how do you treat internal injuries like that?" I smiled wryly and pulled up my left pants leg to expose the thin scar on my shin.

"Not all of them were internal, Doc," I informed him. He crouched down and examined the scar, then started feeling the bone through my skin.

"You set the bone yourself?" he asked incredulously…I shrugged as I pulled the jeans back down and he stood up.

"Once I got the No Pain in my system, it wasn't hard…uncomfortable when I set it, but not excruciating…as for actually healing it, that was a little more tricky. I had to make sure not to move my leg so the bone would set right, but the Heal could only go in so deep…I gave it a couple hours before I tried to move it, and by then it had worked. They have Inside Heal for internal injuries that I used on the other broken bones, though…there's some in my car."

I was uncomfortably aware of the other men's presence, but there was nothing I could do about that right now. They were listening silently, intently, to every word I said, so I had to be especially careful not to let anything incriminating slip out.

"If I could offer some advice?" I continued, turning to inspect the stockpile of Soul medicines closer. "You'll wanna add Cease and Still to your collection, along with the Inside Heal. Cease stops the excess blood flow on a deep wound—I had to use it on my leg—and Still is like a sedative mixed with a paralyzing agent…knocks the person out for several hours. I use it sometimes when I can't sleep…it's also useful when you have a run-in with a Seeker. Gives you plenty of time to get away while they're knocked out, and no body count to bring more of them down on your back."

"Smart…how'd you figure that one out?" Jared asked. I chuckled, giving another half-truth.

"Went to a pharmacist and told her I was having trouble sleeping. She gave it to me and told me how to use it…just inhale one puff, but if you're trying to put yourself to sleep, make sure you're already laying down, cuz it kicks in really fast."

"How fast?" Doc asked.

"About two, maybe three seconds." His eyebrows flew up in surprise, no doubt at the speed I described.

"And you learned all this from their Healers? They weren't suspicious at all?" Brandt asked…this question was more pointed, leaning toward dangerous territory, but I was able to skirt away from it.

"They're not like us…it never crossed their minds that a human would dare walk into a Healing facility and ask for medicine. Besides, you saw my contacts last night…all you have to do is stay calm, smile, and tune up your manners, and they'll do pretty much anything you ask them to. And it's not like I'm the only one that's ever done it…from what they told me, pretty much everyone that has to spend time away from the cities gets medical supplies. Park rangers, for example—some of them go pretty deep in the wilderness for their jobs, anything could happen to them, so they try to be prepared."

"Makes sense," Doc mused, nodding. "How does the Inside Heal work?"

"I don't know the process, but it's not too different from the regular Heal. It comes in two forms, liquid and mist. If the person is conscious, they can drink the liquid, but if not, they inhale the mist…I think the liquid's more effective though, but that's just my opinion."

"What about diseases? Surely you've gotten sick at some point," Brandt chimed in. I chuckled again.

"Oh, that's been the easiest part. The Inside Clean takes care of all that—I've had everything from bronchitis to stomach viruses to strep throat, and it takes care of all those things in just a few seconds. Now, every time I feel like I'm coming down with something, I just use it and I can head it off before it even takes hold. I just about hacked my lungs out the first time I used it, though…I used to smoke, and it forced out everything that had settled in my lungs when I inhaled it…it was pretty gross, but afterward I felt awesome."

"So since you know so much, you think you could fix my lip?" Jared asked, his tone slightly teasing. I took one look at the expression on his face and chuckled; he was being silly, but it wasn't an unreasonable request.

"No problem," I said, grabbing both kinds of Clean and the Heal. His eyes widened in surprise, just a little bit, but he sat down wordlessly on a cot so his face would be in easier reach. Doc was hovering over my shoulder while I worked, and I let him watch.

"Okay, it's just a busted lip, so you don't really need the No Pain," I told him, then grabbed the Inside Clean. "Inhale this…it's the Inside Clean."

He obeyed easily, sucking in the mist when I sprayed it close to his face.

"Tastes like mint," he observed.

"Yeah, the Souls are considerate like that," I agreed as I sprayed his lip with the Outside Clean. "All the inhalants have a different scent and flavor…Awake smells like grapefruit, and Still is raspberry flavored. Okay, that was the Outside Clean…now for the Heal. Do me a favor and open your mouth slightly, we don't want it to seal your mouth shut by accident."

Again, he followed my instructions without hesitation, and I put a few drops of Heal on my finger and carefully dabbed his lip. The effect was instant; the swelling reduced, and the split shrank down and sealed up. I gave it about ten more seconds, then wiped the excess off with the cuff of my sleeve.

"There we go, all done," I announced. He reached up and felt his bottom lip, squeezing it, his face surprised and confused.

"That feels really weird…how does it look, Doc?" Jared asked, looking at the man beside me. I turned to him as well; his eyes were bright and excited.

"Just like it did before it got busted." A chuckle made me glance in Jeb's direction; it only just occurred to me that he hadn't spoken the entire time, and I sensed a kindred spirit in that way. He preferred to watch and listen, to observe and learn things for himself. Suddenly I felt uneasy…his eyes were sharp, and I had no doubt his mind was just as clever…it would be harder to keep the truth from him than it would be most of the others.


	4. Chapter Four: Settled

**A/N:** Wow, you guys are AWESOME! Thanks for all the reviews, they really made my day when I really needed it most. On with the story! This is my version of how the confrontation with the Seeker went down, since Stephenie Meyer never went into details about it. This chapter and the next covers the details on that. Have fun, and please keep the reviews coming!

Chapter Four: Settled

I settled into a nice routine in the caves. There wasn't anyplace else for me to sleep, so I grudgingly stayed with Aaron and Brandt. It wasn't so bad after I told Brandt flat-out that I wasn't interested in him; sure, it was a little awkward at first after that, but that passed soon enough. The chores were exhausting for me, particularly the gardening work, but I didn't complain…I was going through my private supply of No Pain a lot faster than normal, though.

After awhile, Wanda and Ian opened up to me a bit more about her history, and she told me the whole story about her disastrous trek into the desert with Melanie. I'd heard stories about resistant hosts when I was a Healer, but I'd never actually seen a case of it before, and it fascinated me. It was probably rude to ask so many questions, but I couldn't help it; their dual personalities were so intricate that it was impossible to keep quiet.

Doc had exhausted my knowledge of Soul medicines with his questions; I was extremely thankful I had other references besides my time as a Healer to give as my source for the information, because I hated lying and I wasn't nearly as good at it as some of the others. Still, talking in half-truths had grown wearisome to me, and I tended to fall silent when the subject of the conversation turned personal.

Everyone had noticed the ring I wore on my left hand, but it took three weeks before anyone dared to work up the nerve to ask me about it. Despite all the pain of Burns' betrayal, I couldn't bear to part with it, but it was too sensitive a topic for me to talk about. None of the humans could understand, anyway. When Ian, whom I'd adopted as a surrogate little brother, finally asked me about it, the tears that formed in my eyes were answer enough for him, and he mercifully let the subject drop. I'm sure he came to the wrong conclusion, but that was much easier on me than explaining would have been.

Not long after that, Wanda, Ian, Jared, and Kyle all left for a long raid. While I didn't harbor any ill will toward Wanda, it was sometimes painful to be around her, and I was glad for her absence. Her presence brought Burns to the forefront of my thoughts, and I had to fight extremely hard not to let the tears out during those times. Absolute proof that Souls and humans could live together peacefully, could co-exist…and the rest of the world couldn't possibly know about it, because it would be too dangerous for us if they did.

Still, my routine in the caves didn't change; I still performed my rotation of the chores without complaint, and those not on the raid still peppered me with questions every now and then—I would only answer the ones that didn't lead to a sensitive subject. As difficult as Wanda's presence had been, it was especially hard to be around Lucina, Freedom, and Isaiah, and I tended to avoid them whenever possible. It wasn't anything personal against them…it was just too painful to see the mother with her two sons, knowing that my son's body was still out there but that the little boy I loved was gone.

After my arrival in the caves, I hadn't given the Seeker a single thought, but the others still kept a close lookout on her. It was a good thing, too; the raiders had been gone for nearly a month, and we were expecting them to return any day now. I was part of the irrigation team with Brandt, Wes, and Aaron when Jeb came up to them with a tense look in his eyes.

"Boys, we got trouble," he told them, then spun back around and returned in the direction he'd come from. Even though he hadn't been talking to me, I ran after him along with the three men; a grunt when he noticed was the only form of complaint Jeb made. We came out in the hospital wing, and he handed a pair of binoculars to Aaron, then pointed out one of the cracks. When Aaron looked, his face went white.

"The Seeker's on to us," Jeb said gruffly. "She must've figured out the lines, cuz she's sure following them, and every circle she makes is bringing her closer to us. We gotta stop her, and it's gotta be now."

Aaron passed the binoculars to me, and I stepped forward and looked. It took me a second, but I saw her tearing through the desert landscape in an SUV, heedless of all but the larger vegetation. I couldn't make out her expression well, but the idea that she was so close to discovering our location made me shudder.

"I wanna avoid killing her if at all possible," Jeb continued, then looked at me. "Any ideas on how to swing that?"

"If we could get close enough, the Still would certainly knock her out, but you'd have to spray it right in her face…that means being in arms' reach," I said. "I have at least five canisters of it—that's enough for five people to try to close in on her, but first things first, we'd have to get her out of the car."

"Shoot out the tires?" Brandt suggested. I shook my head.

"Only as a last resort. If we did that and then hauled her car off, whenever the other Souls find it, there'd be the evidence of foul play, and that's the last thing we want. If she's this determined, if she's really convinced that she's cracked the code, she'll probably sleep in her car tonight and start again in the morning. If we can hold out till dark, we can make our move then."

To my surprise, the men nodded, seeming to accept my idea. A shiver ran down my spine as I looked out again and saw the dust trail left in the Seeker's wake…she was bringing trouble with her, and a premonition gnawed at my gut that not everyone was gonna make it out of this.


	5. Chapter Five: Captured

Chapter Five: Captured

My nerves reached a fever pitch as we closed in on the Seeker's campsite; the plan was that Brandt, Aaron, Wes, Jeb, and I would surround her and hopefully catch her sleeping, then use the Still on her before she had a chance to struggle. However, the moonlight showed us that she was still awake even though it was after midnight, and I realized she must have been using Awake on herself to keep watch for just this reason. Her tent was only a few yards from her SUV, and she sat between them, her eyes moving around restlessly, her gun in her hands.

Without saying a word, we spread out slowly and silently, surrounding her so there was a better chance for us to get to her before she could use the gun. I had brought a small bag of medical supplies with me just in case, and I silently took it off and laid it on the ground before creeping forward again. My hand tightened reflexively around the bottle of Still as I came to the edge of the brush, staying low to the ground as I watched the tiny woman, her eyes still darting around non-stop.

I heard the faint grinding of pebbles, saw her head turn sharply toward the sound; the gun came up, and the noise of the gunshot was deafening. No more hesitation…I jumped up and ran silently as she continued shooting, then tackled her before she realized it. She tried to struggle, but I was bigger and stronger than her, and I pinned her gun hand down and sprayed the Still three times in her face—once she breathed it in, her eyes closed and her body went limp, her grip on the gun relaxing as the Still took effect.

Now that the danger had passed, I pulled the gun out of her hand and turned to face the others. They were all in the open now; two figures were lying on the ground, the other two crouched over them…oh, hell…one of them wasn't moving, and I couldn't tell from the distance and the dim light who they were. I ran back for my bag, then snatched it up and ran over to the one writhing on the ground; it was Brandt, and he'd been shot just under his collarbone…my stomach turned at the thought of him dying, and I immediately went to work, first giving him some No Pain.

"Wow," he murmured as soon as he swallowed. "When they say 'No Pain,' they're not kidding."

"Don't move," I warned him, ripping open his shirt and switching on my flashlight to see better. When I examined the wound, I exhaled sharply.

"How bad is it?" Aaron asked me as I sprayed the wound with Cease; without the blood flowing, it was easier to survey the damage.

"He got real lucky," I breathed out, fumbling in my bag for the Clean. "A hair lower, and he'd be a goner…just barely missed his heart and lungs. C'mon, help me get him to his feet…Doc can heal him better than I can."

Once the three of us were standing, I looked at where the other figure was sprawled on the ground. It was Wes, had to be—Jeb was hovering over him, tears running down his face.

"Oh, no," I moaned as I ran over, leaving Aaron to support Brandt. I hit my knees on Wes's other side, but my rush was in vain…in the moonlight, I could clearly see the hole in the middle of his forehead, the blood pooling on the desert sand underneath him, the glazed eyes…covering my mouth with one hand to hold back the sobs I felt threatening to break through, I used my other hand to gingerly lower his eyelids. Nothing that I could do, nothing that could've been done; his wound was instantly fatal.

My eyes burned with tears as I stood up and walked back over to Brandt and Aaron; I hadn't known Wes that well, but I knew he was a good man, and his death hurt. Sure, I'd seen plenty of dead bodies in the movies I'd seen before the Souls, but it had been a long time since I'd seen one right in front of me, and then it had been a stranger, someone I'd never met before…never a friend.

Tears burned in the men's eyes too—they'd known Wes better than I had, were closer to him, so his death naturally hurt them more. After a moment, Jeb stood up and cleared his throat.

"Jessica, you think you can get Brandt to Doc by yourself?" he asked, his voice cracked. I took one look at Brandt and nodded; with the No Pain and the Cease, he was in no danger of bleeding out or being weakened by the pain of his wound. "Okay, you two go…Aaron, you go get some of the others to help you move Wes…I'll carry the Seeker inside."

All of us nodded, and I led Brandt along, one arm around his waist while I supported him with his arm around my shoulder…there wasn't much need for the precaution, though. The No Pain had him feeling fit enough to run a marathon—although I knew it would do nothing for the emotional turmoil he now felt.

"You did good," Brandt reassured me as we walked…I could see the main entrance to the caves in the distance. "I saw you tackle the Seeker."

"Not good enough," I mumbled, feeling a thick lump growing in my throat. My conscience gnawed at me, eating away inside…it was my plan, and it had gotten Wes killed. He seemed to sense what was troubling me.

"It wasn't your fault, Jess," he said quietly. "You didn't make that Seeker pull the trigger…and if we'd gone with my plan, our losses probably would've been a lot worse. You know the souls better than we do, and you're smarter than me, anyway." He snorted. "Shooting out the tires in the middle of the day where she could see us coming…what the hell was I thinking?"

I couldn't think of a response, so we continued on in silence. Despite his reassurances, I couldn't help being weighed down by the guilt that now plagued me…all the solid reasons for this to be counted as a win meant nothing compared to what it had cost.


End file.
